During his campaign, New York City's newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani was known for, among many other things, his slick, cinematic videos. It's a skill he probably picked up from his Oscar-nominated mother Mira Nair, a celebrated filmmaker who has been earning international acclaim for India for decades.
From her debut feature Salaam Bombay!, which was nominated for an Oscar, to Monsoon Wedding, which won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, Nair has been crafting powerful stories on screen, after kick-starting her career making documentaries.
Here are six essential films from Nair’s bold and enduring body of work – perfect for those discovering her legacy through her son’s rise.
Salaam Bombay! (1988)
After winning acclaim for her documentary films, Nair, along with her friend Sooni Taraporevala, researched and co-wrote the screenplay for Salaam Bombay!, which depicts the lives of street children in Bombay, India's largest city, now known as Mumbai.
The film follows Krishna, a young boy abandoned in the street, as he fights for survival. It was shot with real street children, blending gritty realism with emotional depth and shines a light on child labour, poverty and the resilience in urban India.
Salaam Bombay! earned international acclaim, including the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar nomination in the Best International Feature category.
Mississippi Masala (1991)
Nair teamed up again with Taraporevala for her next feature, a cross-cultural love story starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury. Mississippi Masala explores the unlikely romance between an African-American carpet cleaner and the daughter of an Indian family exiled from Uganda, tackling themes of migration, racism and belonging. It is considered one of Nair's most tender works.
Despite its modest budget, the film won the critics' praise, powered by Washington's and Choudhury's blistering performances. It also won several awards, including Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival.
While researching this film in Uganda, Nair met her husband and Zohran's father, political scientist Mahmood Mamdani.
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
One of Nair's most successful films, Monsoon Wedding revolves around a Punjabi family in Delhi and is set during a chaotic wedding where tensions and hidden scandals unfold against a backdrop of music, colour and monsoon rains.
Featuring an ensemble cast of acclaimed actors that includes Naseeruddin Shah, Rajat Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das, the film was a commercial and critical hit in India and abroad.
Accolades include the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and Best Film Not in the English Language at the Baftas, as well as Golden Globes and Critics' Choice nominations.
The Namesake (2006)
Reuniting with Taraporevala, Nair adapted Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s bestseller, which centres around the Gangulis, a Bengali immigrant family navigating life in the US.
This poignant drama explores themes of identity, cultural assimilation and the generational gap between immigrant parents and their American-born children. The powerful cast includes Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Kal Penn.
Penn plays Nikhil/Gogol who, as he grows up, fully embraces American culture and distances himself from his heritage, much to the frustration of his parents, played by Tabu and Khan.
One of Nair’s most personal works, The Namesake won wide acclaim, including nominations at the Gotham Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)
Nair delivers a political thriller with this adaptation of British-Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid’s Booker Prize-nominated novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
A post-9/11 story, it follows Changez Khan, a successful Pakistani man working on Wall Street, whose life is forever altered after the terrorist attacks as suspicion and identity politics begin to erode his version of the American dream.
Khan is played by Riz Ahmed in a standout performance, alongside Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland and acclaimed Indian actors Shabana Azmi and Om Puri.
While the film received mixed reviews, it was widely praised for its nuanced take on geopolitics and tackling themes of tolerance and xenophobia.
Queen of Katwe (2016)
This sports biographical film is based on the life of Phiona Mutesi, who was raised in the slums of Uganda and became a chess star. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o plays Mutesi's mother Nakku Harri, while acclaimed British actor David Oyelowo plays her coach Robert Katende. Ugandan actress Madina Nalwanga plays Mutesi.
Nair was picked by Disney to adapt the film from a biography by American author Tim Crothers. The feelgood drama was widely praised for its strong performances.
Zohran Mamdani appears in the film as an extra, and also contributed a song, #1 Spice, under his rapper pseudonym Young Cardamom.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
New Zealand squad
Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
More on Coronavirus in France
